1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to firearms, and more particularly to safety mechanisms for use in firearms. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to locks for the prevention of accidental or unauthorized use of firearms which are positioned in the firing chamber or in the barrel of the firearm.
2. Background Information
A problem which has become more serious in recent years stems from the accidental or unauthorized use of firearms by children and other persons. Various devices have been suggested to alleviate this problem. Such devices have included trigger locks and other such mechanisms which attempt to prevent accidental or unauthorized firing of a firearm by incapacitating the trigger. While such trigger lock devices may provide some protection, they are not entirely satisfactory since they may allow a limited amount of trigger movement which may be sufficient to discharge a round which may be loaded in the firing chamber. Trigger lock devices may also not be effective in preventing the discharge of a chambered round which may sometimes result from a sharp jarring of a firearm as might, for example, result from its being dropped onto a hard surface.
In order to overcome the above problems with trigger locks, a number of arrangements have been proposed in which a lock is applied in the barrel and/or in the firing chamber of a firearm.
U.S. Pat. No 4,512,099 to Mathew, for example, discloses a firearm locking device in which a diagonally split sleeve affords a pair of wedges at least one of which is laterally displaced when the wedges are urged together. A cylinder lock and cams attached to a tube and coaxial actuating rod extend through the gun barrel from the muzzle to the firing chamber serve to position and actuate the wedges only in response to operation of a lock key.
U.S. Pat. No 5,048,211 to Hepp discloses a chamber and bore lock which includes a rod adapted for receipt within the barrel bore of the firearm. One end of the rod has a fixed plug with an abutting O-ring. A pair of sleeves are received upon the rod with an O-ring therebetween. A threaded cap engages an end of the rod at the muzzle of the firearm, such that threaded movement of the cap draws the plug toward the cap, urging the sleeves into compressing and radially deforming engagement with the O-rings which engage inner circumferential surfaces of the barrel bore and firing chamber of the firearm.
U.S. Pat. No 5,115,589 to Shuker discloses a device for insertion into the barrel or chamber of a firearm to prevent unauthorized use which employs a key-operated lock. The key-operated lock is rotated to cause, through a screw-thread, axial movement of an operating member with tapered surfaces which causes expansion of another component having convergent surfaces, so as to engage tightly against the walls of the chamber. The key is used both to unlock the lock and to rotate the operating member. If an attempt is made to drive the device out from the barrel end there can be teeth which spread apart to bite into the walls of the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No 5,138,785 to Paterson discloses a lock for a firearm with a revolving bullet-receiving cylinder which is insertable into one of the chambers of the cylinder when the cylinder is in an open position. The lock comprises a body, insertable through a chamber and is then expandable at a foot portion by turning a key in order to prevent withdrawal of the body. While the body remains within the cylinder, the cylinder cannot be closed and the firearm cannot be discharged.
U.S. Pat. No 5,241,770 to Lambert discloses a firearm locking device having an outer tube which slidably receives a central mandrel in complementary coaxial relationship. The outer tube includes collet spring fingers mounted at a lower distal end thereof, and the outer tube upon projection of the central mandrel therethrough effects a spreading of the collet fingers for engagement with a rear terminal end of an associated pistol cylinder or barrel of a long arm such as a rifle. The collet fingers include annular shoulders to be received within the rear face of the cylinder or chamber for locking the organization within the pistol structure. Coaxially aligned bores of the outer tube and the central mandrel when aligned permit positioning of a latch therethrough preventing removal of the assembly in a pistol.
U.S. Pat. No 5,664,358 to Haber, et al. discloses a barrel lock to be removably inserted and locked within the barrel of a hand gun to prevent the accidental and unauthorized firing of the hand gun without requiring any manufacturing changes to the gun. The barrel lock includes an expandable chamber lock that is located at the distal end of a barrel lock tube. The barrel lock tube is adapted to slide inwardly through the gun barrel to locate the chamber lock to be received in and retained at the existing bullet chamber of the gun barrel, whereby the hand gun is disabled. A combination lock cooperates with the proximal end of the barrel lock tube to prevent the barrel lock tube from being withdrawn from the gun barrel and the chamber lock from being removed from the bullet chamber until a particular predetermined combination has first been successfully dialed in.
A need still exists, however, for a firearm locking mechanism with further improved efficiencies.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a locking device for firearms which provides a high degree of security against accidental and unauthorized use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a firearm lock which secures the firing chamber of the firearm.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety lock for firearms which secures the bore of the barrel of the firearm.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety lock for firearms which can be quickly and efficiently removed to allow use of the firearm and which may be quickly, easily and efficiently positioned and locked into the firearm after use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety lock for firearms which is attractive and not obtrusive to the appearance of the firearm.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety lock for firearms which is adapted for use with various types of firearms, including various calibers and barrel lengths which may be employed in firearms.
These and other objectives are met by the present invention which is a bore and chamber locking mechanism for a firearm which is installed through the bore into an empty chamber. The mechanism is securely locked by turning a matching security key clockwise until chamber and bore are blocked and locked. Any attempt to load a cartridge into empty firing chamber will not be possible.
In a preferred form, this locking mechanism has a proximate firing chamber. A barrel extends forward from this firing chamber to a distal end and has a bore interior dimension which is smaller than said breech chamber interior dimension. There is a shoulder between this firing chamber and the barrel section. A rod extends through the bore from the proximate end to said distal end. Expansion means are positioned in the chamber and are connected to the proximate end of the rod. In an expanded position, the expansion means engages the shoulder. In an unexpanded position, the shoulder is not engaged so that the mechanism can be inserted or withdrawn from the firearm.
Also encompassed within the scope of this invention is a method of selectively disabling a firearm. In this method, a rod is positioned to extend interiorly through the bore of the barrel at the proximate to the distal end. Expansion means are provided at the proximate end of the rod, and these expansion means move outwardly to engage the interior wall of the firing chamber. Preferably, the shoulder between the firing chamber interior wall and the bore will be engaged. Locking means will also preferably be provided at the distal end of the barrel so that once the interior wall of the firing chamber has been engaged, the mechanism can be locked to prevent its withdrawal. When the locking means are deactivated, the expansion means may be caused to move axially inwardly to allow withdrawal of the entire locking mechanism from the firearm.
The firearm locking mechanism may also incorporate a modified security lock housed within a lock housing. The tube acts as an extension of the lock housing. The lock housing is connected by a tube to a brass collet at the chamber end of firearm lock. A collet is pressed and permanently secured to the tube. An anti-theft pin is pressed into rod between the end of the tube and the shoulder inside the collet. This pin keeps the collet expanded and locked in the chamber even if the lock and lock housing are cut off. A nut is positioned on the rod and started onto the collet. The nut is held in the collet stationary while the key is turned in the clockwise direction. As the key is turned clockwise the nut travels toward the lock housing on the threaded rod causing the fingers of the collet to expand inside the empty chamber. The shoulder at the distal end of the collet expands inside the empty chamber. The shoulder at the distal end of the collet locks into opposite shoulder of the chamber at the end of bore. A spring is set between the nut and end cap, and the spring is used to start the nut onto the threaded rod and into the collet to start locking action when the key is turned clockwise.
An end cap is pressed onto the end of the rod and permanently secured. The cap is used to hold the spring and nut in place when the lock is in an at rest, unlocked position. The key is used to turn the rod counter clockwise to move the nut down the rod through the collet away from the lock housing, thereby allowing the expanded collet to return to an unlocked position and thus, making it possible to remove the locking mechanism from the chamber and the bore. As the key is turned while holding lock housing finger and slots of collet interact with axial peripheral grooves on nut to hold the nut in stationary position and thus, letting the nut travel along the threads of the threaded rod to allow the collet either to expand or to contract depending upon which direction key is turned, i.e. clockwise to expand, counter clockwise to contact. The collet and nut preferably have six grooves and six ridges for larger caliber and gauges of firearms. The collet and the nut for smaller caliber firearms, such as 22 to 30 caliber firms, preferably have three slots and three flutes, Preferably, the parts of this locking mechanism positioned inside the firearm will be brass.